Pitching and a walkoff carry Mines baseball to series win over CCU

The CSM Orediggers started the weekend off great with three straight wins against the Colorado Christian University Cougars at home in Golden at Darden Field.

Friday night’s game was a nail-biter and the game lasted 10 innings, spanning three hours and nineteen minutes. Red-shirt sophomore Ben Gilman took the ball for the first eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out five. Junior Eric Shannon came on in relief in the ninth, but two singles, an error, and an intentional walk brought freshman Nate Olinger in to finish.

Mines scored one run in the third inning from sophomore third baseman Zach Bothwell’s double, but found themselves down 2-1 after the fifth. After CCU tacked on another run in the top of the ninth, Mines needed to score two runs to keep the game going, and they did. Senior infielder Garrett Schirmacher and senior outfielder Bobby Egeberg got it going with consecutive walks and both advanced on a wild pitch. Bothwell came up and singled Schirmacher to home, bringing the score to 3-2 for CCU. Olinger’s fly to deep left brought Egeberg home and sent the game to the tenth inning.

In the end, it was another wild pitch that sent redshirt junior Kyle Wallace to the plate and the Diggers walked off with the 4-3 win. Wallace had walked and advanced on a Schirmacher single and another CCU error.

Nate Olinger took the mound again Saturday, and started off the game by working through a jam and leaving the bases loaded in the first. The Cougars and Orediggers were scoreless heading into the bottom of the third, but back-to-back singles by freshman shortstop Travis Ramos and Schirmacher gave Mines a 4-0 lead. Olinger dominated the rest of the game, picking up the complete game and scattering eight hits over eight innings.

Mines never gave up the lead in their second game of the doubleheader Saturday. Freshman lefty Christian Rooney picked up his fourth win of the season as he went the full seven innings, giving up three runs on eleven hits. Bothwell, Olinger, Ramos, and Schirmacher continued to lead the offense as the Orediggers won 5-3.

Mines will play a doubleheader Tuesday evening against CCU to make up for the snowed-out games earlier in the year before traveling to Grand Junction to face Colorado Mesa in their last regular-season series of the year. With the wins Saturday, Mines’ record is 18-21 overall and 15-16 in the RMAC, at No. 5.



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